By Leo Babauta

There’s a kind of mindfulness that’s about achieving an inner peace, and being content not doing anything. I think that’s beautiful!

But what I want to talk about is another kind of mindfulness — the kind that is focused on taking action.

This is about taking what we’ve practiced on the meditation cushion, and using action to express a deeper purpose. For example, maybe you’d like to create a positive change in the world, something that would feel really meaningful. Taking steps to create that change is a way to express that kind of purpose.

The thing is, we shy away from that kind of action, because it’s vulnerable, scary, uncomfortable. It asks us to risk something.

Taking action would mean we need to face these kinds of fears and discomfort. We can do that with mindfulness: being willing to sit in the discomfort and fear, and then to breathe, and take the smallest step.

This takes courage. And we get courage through repeated practice.

I encourage you to practice with me and my community: join my Fearless Living Academy and put action-focused mindfulness into daily practice. It’ll change your life.